Cost Management:a Strategic Emphasis

Syllabus Course number: Course(in English): Management Accounting Credit hour:3 Pre-course: Instructing language: Chinese Courseware: English Semester: Fall Course kind: Required course Objects: Master The Course Objectives After the study of this course, students should gain full knowledge of the key conceptual framework and generally used methods of management accounting as an important decision making tool for management of businesses and organizations of other types. Consequently, they would be capable of taking medium and advanced management accounting courses in the future.Course book and references Course book(CB): Ronald W. Hilton, Michael W. Maher, Frank H. Selto,Cost Management strategies for Business Decisions,Second edition, McGraw Hill Companies Inc. 2006. References: 1. Charles T. Horngren, Gary L. Sundem, William O. Stratton, Introduction to Managerial Accounting, Chaptpers1-19, 2002 edition, Prentice Hall Publishing. 2. Jerold L. Zimmerman, Accounting for Decision Mak ing and Control, 4th edition, McGraw-Hill, 2003. 3. Anthony A. Atkinson, Rajav D. Banker, Robert S. Kaplan, and S. Mark Young, Management Accounting, 3rd edition, Prentice-Hall , 2001 . 4.He yingqi Chen jiajun,Management Accounting,Shanghai Financial and Economic Press,2003. 5. Harvard Business Review on Managing the Value Chain, HBS Press 1999 The Final Result of Study At the end of the semester, students will be required to submit a semester paper as final examination. After that each student’s final result of study will be computed with 10% participation in the lesson and 20% of the average mark of his/her homework done and 20% of case studies and 50% of his/her mark of the final examination(semester paper). The satisfactory weighted average mark should be at least 60. Instructing plansTeaching plans and the content to see the table as following: DateContentReadingsAssignments 12008. 9. 19Topic 1 Cost management and value chainCB-Chapter 1 and its PPTE1. 26; P1. 33; C1. 41 ; 22008. 9. 26- 2008. 10. 10Topic 2 I. Product costing system: concept and design II. Cost accumulation for job and batch production operationCB-Chapter 2; chapter 3 and their PPTE2. 36; P2. 64; C2. 80; P3. 55; 32008. 10. 17- 2008. 10. 24Topic 3 I. Activity-based costing II. Activity-based managementCB-Chapter 4 ;Chapter5;and their PPTE4. 39; P4. 52; C4. 63; P5. 42; 4Topic 4 Managing quality and time to create valuechapter6;chapter 7 and their PPTC6. 3; C7. 76; 52008. 10. 31- 2008. 11. 7Topic 5 Process costing and cost alloationCB-Chapter 8, chapter9,chapter10 and its PPTP8. 36; P9. 46; E10. 24; 62008. 11. 14Topic 6 Cost estimationCB-Chapter 11, and their PPTP11. 53; C 11. 57; 7Topic 7 Financial and CVP modelsCB-Chapter 12 and its PPTP12. 50;C12. 63; 82008. 11. 21Topic 8 Cost management and decision makingCB-Chapter 12, chapter 13 and their PPTP13. 49;P13. 50; P13. 54; 9Topic 9 Strategic issues in long term capital investment decisionCB-Chapter 14, and its PPTC14. 52 102008. 11. 28T opic 10 Budgeting and financial planingCB-Chapter 15, and itsr PPTC 15. 55 112008. 2. 5Topic 11 Standard costing system and variance analysisCB-Chapter 16, and its PPTC16. 48 122008. 12. 12Topic 12 Flexible budget and overhead cost managementCB-Chapter 17, and its PPTC17. 68 132008. 12. 19Topic 13 Organizational design, responsibility accounting, and evaluation of division performanceCB-Chapter 18, andits PPTP18. 38;P18. 46; 142008. 12. 26Topic 14 Transfer pricingCB-Chapter 19, and its PPTP19. 36;P19. 40;C19. 42; 15Topic 15 Incentive system, performance evaluation, and balanced-scord card CB-Chapter 20, chapter 21 and their PPTC21. 57 162009. 1. 9Final examination (Semester paper)——–

How to Plan for a Listening and Speaking Lesson

How to plan For a Listening Skill Lesson Teacher | Observer | Date | Lesson number | Class level Elementary| Number of students| Timetable fit| Previous lesson: Reading and speaking skillThis lesson: Listening and speaking skillNext lesson: Listening and speaking skill| for the teacher)| To provide an engaging lessons for students and improving their listening skill. * To monitor closely and make sure the lesson is successful. | Objectives (for the students)| By the end of the lesson the students will: 1) Have practiced listening for gist of a radio program. 2) Have learnt the vocabulary related to professions/jobs.Language AnalysisForm Meaning PronunciationLexis in text Guess (v, present simple) supposeQuiz (n, sing) a test of knowledgeTeam (n, a group of playersUnemployed (v, past) Writer (n, sing)Guest (n, sing) a person who is invited to take part in a function by other personDepends (v, simple present) relyUniform (n, sing)Special qualifications (special= adjective, qualificati ons = noun, pl)A lot of (phrase) manyActor (n, sing) role player in drama or filmProfessional (adj) a person who has a professionFootballer (n, sing) who plays footballDo you work†¦? Where? When? How? Topic vocabularyJobs/professions| Assumed knowledge| The students know about different professions like doctor, footballer, and artist. They also know the difference between profession and hobby. | Anticipated problems | 1) This is a radio program some students may not understand it. Students may want to repeat it. 2) Weaker student may not understand the phrases and some of the vocabulary. 3) This can prevent them from completing the comprehension tasks. Solutions| 1. Check elicit before students listen. 2. Include review of vocabulary at the beginning. | Materials | Radio program: Guess the jobFlash cards/pictures of various people doing different jobsOther handouts: (comprehension Qs) – teacher’s own| | Interaction| Procedure| Rationale| 7 mins4 mins3 mins4mins| T -SS-ST-SST-S(pairs/triplets)| 1. Context setT elicits vocabulary related to jobs using picture. Drill if required. A) Where do people work? B) How do they work? When do they work? What kind of information you need to find out what is somebody’s job. Feedback- Pre-teach guess, Quiz, a lot of, unemployed, special qualifications. 2.Prediction taskStudents look at the picture and a) say what they can see and b) what is going on in the program. Feedback- teacher clarifies/elicits and write a brief summary on the board. | To motivate the students so that they take part in the lesson. To prepare the students for what is coming up. | Lesson Content Timing| Interaction| Procedure| Rationale| 3 mins3 mins3 mins 3 mins | SS-Ss-sT-SS| 3. 1st Listening (gist)Students listen to the program and tell whether they recognized the vocabulary. Did they find program what they have guessed before similar to the written on the board? Task- students write the answers in y/n on the handouts. Check wi th the partner. Feedback-check as class. | To know that the students have understood the program. |

Taiwan Living Culture

There is an issue comes up when Taiwan talks about culture conservation, which is the conflict between social development and preservation of military dependents’ villages. Taiwan is a place that lived by Holo, Hakka and indigenous peoples. Besides indigenous people, there are many mainlanders who came from mainland China. Those mainlanders came with Kuomintang government for political affairs that happened in China since 1940s. Hence, compare to indigenous people, military dependents’ villages, the places mainlanders were living, is actually a minor culture in Taiwan.Therefore, there are some difficulties for the culture-based workshops when they are trying to protect military dependents’ villages. There is lesser population who insist to protect their culture. Moreover, a number of residents were basically moved out from the villages. In this issue, we could study the issue with our cultural communication knowledge, especially identify the culture element that the issue brought by. Refer to the article title, preserving military dependents’ villages, the article is discussing about how the workshops trying to preserve military dependents’ villages and what are the concerns they are having.Since military dependents’ villages are minority culture in Taiwan, as well as they are not Taiwan’s local culture, we can understand how difficult the workshops’ tasks are. Hence, preserving military dependents’ villages is an issue. This issue was discussed recently. It was being studied since 1990s. We noticed that it was a trend of cultural discussion, which has no certainty beginning and ending. It is generally happened in Taiwan. Those active workshops were operating much in Kaohsiung and New Taipei City. There are some people who involved in this issue.First of all, there is a workshop called Association of Mainlander Taiwanese (AMT). It is formed in 2004. Yang Tsung-rong is one of board of directors of AM T. He is an Associate Professor at National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei too. He said that the workshop recently focuses on conserving the unique villages. The second involved party is Ministry of National Defense (MND). The land of dependents’ villages belongs to MND. There is a law named Act for Rebuilding Old Quarters. It assures MND to have right of demolish the village after the military dependents moved out.They will rebuild new apartments for military dependents. Sometimes, they sold the apartments in accordance with National Property Act to fund the construction of apartments. The third party is Lin Fung-ching, who is a deputy chief executive of Kaohsiung Military Dependents’ Villages Culture Development Association. The workshop was formed in 2007 and operates the Kaohsiung Museum of Military Dependents’ Villages. She agreed that less-is-more strategy which means preserving a limited number of the housing areas is sufficient.She understood the gov ernment’s concern since preserving all 888 villages is a challenge of local development. Nevertheless, she stated that preserving old buildings in a village is not enough. The fourth person is Wang He-ping, who is another chief executive of the Kaohsiung workshop. He supports the preservation idea and aims to preserve Mingde New Village, Zuoying District as a â€Å"living museum† that would see villagers continue to live in the village. Visitors can move into vacant houses to feel their day life culture. He enhanced that preserving the villages is promoting â€Å"green belt† concept.It would add to Kaohsiung’s tourism resources. He said that dependents’ villages are a minority culture, but they are not a minor part of Taiwan’s culture. Wang Ji-xin is the fifth person who involved in this issue. He is a founding board member of the New Taipei City Military Dependents’ Villages Culture Association which formed by year 2007. The associat ion is to preserve approximately 60 houses of Sanchong First Village. He is a former resident of the village too. He mentioned that bulldozers will also remove an irretrievable piece of Taiwan’s pluralistic culture.Sanchong First Village’s residents had move out and into purpose-built apartment buildings in New Taipei City by 2006. They could only make oral histories instead of make a living museum as Mingde does. Basically, Taiwan is a place that highly appreciates traditional culture. At first, they believed and followed the Chinese culture. Since 1990s, Taiwan started to focus on local culture. They appreciate Holo, Hakka and indigenous groups. Even Ministry of Education introduced the program called â€Å"Knowing Taiwan† which focused Taiwan’s history, geography and society instead of centered on mainland China.As the article mentioned, mainlanders who came to Taiwan with Kuomintang government had been allocated in certain places. They thought that st aying in Taiwan was temporary plan. However, the dream of â€Å"retaking mainland† faded and the mainlanders had to stay in Taiwan. According to government’s arrangement in 1980s, 90% of 110,000 households recorded in 1984, the dependents of mainlanders, who were military’s families, have left the villages. Nevertheless, some workshops tried to request to preserve the villages for culture conservation.At last, we found that the workshops perform so well which fight for their culture yet do not ignore the social development. What we learnt in communication and culture, we have no problem to agree that living lifestyle is one of culture definition’s elements. There is a set of pattern preserved and shared human activities among a social group from generations to generations. In this article, the dependents’ villages are recognized culture of what we learnt in class. The military dependents’ villages were brought by mainlanders from mainland of China.They brought their families to Taiwan as well. Hence, they started practice their normal life in Taiwan generations by generations. Moreover, there are pictures of their culture proof. For the first page, we can see a big house built at Mingde New Village in Kaohsiung. It is for higher-ranking officers. The second page has 5 photos. The top one is the narrow alleys in the military dependents’ village. The photo below it shows the mandarin words which means â€Å"Be calm amid confusion†. It would be probably the residents’ value oriented.The other two photos that wrote mandarin words, â€Å"One year to get ready, two years to recapture, three years to clean up and five years to finish the job†. The military has the purpose on recapture the mainland of China when they came to Taiwan. On the following page, there is a photo of some apartments. They are the new apartment buildings for military families such as these in Kaohsiung’s Zuoying Distri ct. We noticed that the villages’ culture had been gone. The other photo in this page shows the military dependents villages’ cultural festival in New Taipei City.The fifth page showed the military uniforms and identity cards at the Kaohsiung Museum of military dependents’ villages. The last page showed the selection of dishes at a Kaohsiung military dependents villages’ food festival in 2011 and a well-preserved living room at Sanchong First Village in New Taipei City. All of them are significant culture. This issue is quite similar to Malaysia’s not to demolish Jalan Sultan case. We noticed that culture preservation is important, especially the historical buildings. We understand social development is important too yet there are some ways to avoid from demolishing cultural buildings.As the photo we saw in fourth page, the original outlook and environment was gone after the rebuilding. It will be happened in Jalan Sultan if we do not fight for the preservation of culture. It is sad if we lost our significant culture on our land. Therefore, we should appreciate our culture and think the other ways to avoid from demolishing our significant culture. For example, Melaka had preserved those culture buildings and items. They then become elements of tourism and improving our national incomes. Hence, we should think twice before we made the cruel decision of demolishing some precious and valuable cultures.

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 172

Assignment Example These morals and values in some instances may conflict with my personal values and morals, in such cases it will require I adhere to the codes of ethics governing my profession. An example situation where my morals and personal values may contradict with my client’s personal values and morals is whereby I encounter a gay client. In a similar case, it may happen that I encounter a drug addict who tends to behave in an irrational manner and in most cases; he has a high chance of getting out of control and becoming violent. On a personal point of view, I may not be okay with the client’s morals and personal values however; I still have to understand that the client’s welfare is primary. I will also have to observe counselor’s codes of conduct and behave professional manner (NAADAC: The Association for Addiction Professionals, 2011). I will also have to attend the clients and ensure I help them or if I am unable to then I should not cause them any harm both mentally and physically. For the client who is a drug addict this challenge may serve as a driving force to help him change for the better as I would exert more effort in helping him. The key factor is to understand that as a professional counselor I should acknowledge my personal weaknesses and try to control them so that they do not affect my

Baby and Infant Screen for Children with Autism Traits Research Paper

Baby and Infant Screen for Children with Autism Traits - Research Paper Example In a study conducted by Hattier et al. (2011) revealed that children with Autism spectrum disorders had one comorbid identified anxiety syndrome. This study discovered that infants with this disorder had challenges like phobia indifferences, compulsions, movement and vocal challenges, as well as social fear than other normal children. They noted that anxiety is very important for children with Autism spectrum disorders and anxiety among these children affects their social development and social interaction with other children in the society. These researchers mainly examined the occurrence of disobedient or rebellious behaviors among infants with Autism spectrum disorders and unusual development. These researchers used a descriptive non-experimental research design that examines the occurrences of challenging activities among two analytic collections. This kind of research methodology used was significant because this research process was still in the initial stages of improvement (H attier et al., 2011).The researchers used a sample of 2131 infants, with 633 reported with an Autism spectrum disorders and 1498 recorded to have unusual growth (Hattier et al., 2011). The Infant and Baby Screen for Babies with Autism spectrum Traits-Part 3 using the BISCUIT-Part 3 to conduct an assessment of difficult activities within the target pollution. The incidences of challenging activities were assessed along with an examination of the co-occurring elements.

Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Proposal - Essay Example In addition to wresting these native populations and lands from Mexico, the U.S grabbed itself many overseas colonies. While it reluctantly joined the two world wars rather late, the United States has started and waged quite a number of wars single-handedly since becoming a superpower. Interestingly, some of these wars have been merely military interventions whose justification some consider ulterior and therefore uncalled for. From this war-mongering nature of the United States and its leaders (presidents), it is strange that U.S citizens and subsequent presidents consider themselves as peace-loving people and continually deceive Americans that the U.S foreign policy serves their interests. One reason the U.S citizens elected President Barrack Obama is that they thought he would be different from his predecessor George Bush who not only started the foolish and unnecessary wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but also mismanaged these wars. It is because of Obama’s opposition to the two wars that he was endeared to the war-wary U.S citizens thus prompting his election. Unfortunately, two years into his first term in office, President Obama, who was expected to be more thoughtful on the use of U.S armed forces and the implications of crude policy tools escalated the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and even launched a new war against Libya. Because of its love for war and military interventions in countries and regions considered enemies, strategic, or of interest to it, the United States has made many enemies in the world, more so the Arab and Muslim world. In fact, the U.S foreign policy has particularly been aggressive towards the Arab world, seen to be harboring and su pporting individual terrorists and terror groups such as the Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabab. This paper explores the United States’ foreign policy, which is marred with a lot of lies not

If you could make one scientific discovery in your lifetime, what Essay

If you could make one scientific discovery in your lifetime, what would it be and why - Essay Example Let me explain why: I might offer a rather unsupported claim stating that many individuals devote a significant portion of their early adult life to medicine and health care for the monetary benefits that this industry can potentially provide. This assertion might sound a tad bit presumptuous, however it does not diminish the capabilities and ultimate competencies of these ambitious individuals. However, there are those people, such as myself, who view the efforts of contemporary medical communities to be an attempt at sustaining the health and well-being of generations to come. I think this might be an argument which can be supported by the successes of other pioneering professionals in the medical field, such as the reduction of various, ancient plagues and diseases which once wreaked havoc on society, but are no longer threatening to contemporary communities. Though these researchers primarily contributed to disease warfare appropriate for their individual time in history, their long-term legacies t o social and physical health improvement are most notable and remarkably sustainable. Having offered this, the elimination of the genetic factors controlling the aging process would become a significant project with everlasting, positive consequences for the way that we, as humans, would live our lives. I believe that with this discovery, the future global community would no longer experience diminished human morale and would virtually eliminate problems with suicide. Why, you ask? With the prospect of eternal life would come greater opportunities for cognitive growth and emotional maturity, helping individuals to mold their ambitions toward self-discovery and methods by which to make contributions to society. Where todays society is plagued by the realization that the accomplishment of lifelong goals is limited by progressive aging, tomorrows culture would likely learn crucial elements such

Should There Be a Market in Human Organs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Should There Be a Market in Human Organs - Essay Example I believe that the rich in the contemporary capitalist societies have immense influence in the way business is conducted and they control many market forces such trade policy which in most case sideline the poor. Given the disadvantaged position of the poor in comparison to the rich, it would be unfair to expect that the two groups would compete favorably. In fact, it would be same as telling the rich that the poor have to give the rich their organs for them to give them money. The rich, and every other person who is in a vantage point, has a moral duty to give to the poor without conditions such as they have to get their organs in return (Kishore, 2005). Assuming that the people buying these human organs are all patients who need organs in order to rectify a medical condition, only those patients who can afford to buy organs will get them and the others will unjustly be left out. Those who get to buy these organs might not be in need of an organ as seriously as the ones who cannot afford them but because of their economic affordability, they will get and the poor ones will be left wallow in their pain and agony. This is especially so in a free trade market where the supply of human organs and their prices will not be regulated and only the highest bidder will benefit. Opponents to the claim that a market in human organs undermines justice can charge that such a market would show regard for autonomy. However, I believe that the power of money to bait an individual who is morally competent to give in to a transaction compromises the individual’s autonomy and this is what a market in human organs would do (Cherry, 2005). Trading human organs would undermine the virtue of altruism because it would attach monetary value to human relationships. Altruism makes a person to put the concerns and welfare of others before his

Activity-based costing (ABC) in service industry Essay

Activity-based costing (ABC) in service industry - Essay Example However, it has often been argued that implementing such pricing strategies might prove to be quite challenging in case of service oriented companies in comparison to the product rendering companies owing to the greater involvement of intangible assets and liabilities. In this regard, various models have been developed with the intention to assist in determining the accurate costs incurred in following the entire process of delivering services to the ultimate customers. For instance, Activity Based Costing (ABC) can be regarded as an effective cost determination system that involves breaking up of the activities or the processes into individual activities (Shevasuthisilp & Punasathitwong, 2012). With this concern, this essay intends to present a brief overview of the ABC concept with reference to the business process executed by a large-sized service marketing company, Amazon.com. The discussion will thus address the benefits of time-driven ABC system for the selected service company along with the corresponding competitive advantages to be attained by the organization. The potential impact of such costing system will further be evaluated in the context of e-commerce based service company compared with that of the traditional system. Company Overview Amazon.Com, Incorporation was established in Washington, USA in 1994. The company primarily renders its services to its versatile customer range through retail websites. The company is one of the earliest service based organizations involved in e-commerce or the sale of various merchandise through e-commerce. Contextually, the online retail operation of the company is considered to be the core business activity of Amazon.com. The vision of the company depicts that Amazon.com intends to provide high quality services to its customers. The customers’ services operations of the company comprise internally and externally managed contact centers. The company further provides programs that allow sellers from around the world to market their products through Amazon.com offering its customers to access ‘in-the-cloud infrastructure services’. Furthermore, it has been observed that the company generates its revenues from online advertisements and other promotional activities. Notably, the recent activities of the organization reveal that even in the circumstances where its rivals are struggling with their survival in the market place, the company is thriving, boasting increasing revenue (Morningstar, 2009). Implementation of Time Driven ABC Costs System and Related Benefits (Amazon.Com) ABC cost system includes grouping of indirect costs on the basis of processes and certain activities performed within the value chain system of the company. Furthermore, these indirect costs are allocated to services rendered to the customers, proportionately to the volume of activities that gave rise to these indirect costs rather on the entire departments. However, many problems have been found to b e associated with the implementation of ABC model such as complexity issues, time-consuming technique and other problems related with the modification of the model. Contextually, time driven ABC involves time as the primary cost driver. Under this system, costs are directly allocated to costs objectives (Roztocki, 2010). At the initial step of time driven ABC system implementation, Amazon.com should critically determine the major purposes for implementing the procedure. The most common objective for implementing the ABC system is to gain efficiency in controlling the overall costs taking into account the overhead costs in measuring the profitability of the company. Contextually, overhead costs related with Amazon.com include rent, office expenses,

Promoting a exsiting manger Essay Example for Free

Promoting a exsiting manger Essay I feel that if dalman and lei created a new position between the location managers and the ceo, it will help the business prosper. Because it will free up some of the time that lei feels like he doesn’t have to focus on other things and his position. If he used his authority to delegate and make sure that he puts together a specific team that can not only do the job but preform at the level he does if not above it, they will end up with a good outcome. Also working with the location managers I think is the smartest move because l ocation is what they specifically oversee so who better than them to do the job? It gives the company the perk that it needs to expand like they want to as well. Promoting a exsiting manger is a great option but only with certain requirements, if the current manger has the experience,knowledge and drive theres no problem with promoting form within. I feel that prominting from within is a great aspect to any job or career, because if you’re with a company that you plan to stay at you wanna move up the company latter and for the employers it will help make their business more appeling to prospective employees. By making the company more appeling you’ll have more people happy to come to work because of that insentive, creating longevity because happy employees create happy custoners. The descion should be made by dalman and lei because they are the company owners and not only if something goes wrong their livly hoods depends on it. I feel that if they were to bring someone in to make that desion with them it would have to be someone they both were comfortable with like one of the manager they would be considering for the new position then that way that person would have an more in deph look at the outcome both Dalman and Lei are seeking.

History of Mathematics Teaching in the National Curriculum

History of Mathematics Teaching in the National Curriculum This research paper is to discuss about the nature and history of mathematics, how it has taken its place within the National Curriculum; the framework for teaching Mathematics in Secondary and finally investigation on a series of three lessons designed for Year 7 on Algebra. INTRODUCTION Education has made a difference in my life, the knowledge I have gained has given me the potential to explore, think and make decisions accordingly. In other words, Education is a powerful tool and plays a vital role to shape up a strong economy of a country. As a Mathematics teacher, I clearly understand my key role in imparting knowledge and skills to the younger generation to make full use of their potential. The perception of mathematics has been changed over the years. Hence, it is important to look back at the nature of mathematics, how it has taken its place within the national curriculum; how the teaching and learning of mathematics has been guided by the National Strategies Framework. LITERATURE REVIEW Nature of Mathematics Even though mathematics is one of the many subjects in schools, there is a greater pressure on pupils to succeed in Mathematics other than subjects like History, Geography; why is that so? As part of my investigation into the nature of Mathematics I referred to two sources that gave substantial evidence towards the nature of Mathematics. The Enquiry Committee: A Major Enquiry Committee was set up in 1978 to consider the teaching of Mathematics in Primary and Secondary schools. After 4 years of study and research the committee came out with a report called The Cockcroft Report. It would be very difficult perhaps impossible to live a normal life in very many parts of the world in the twentieth century without making use of mathematics of some kind. (The Cockcroft Report (1982), Mathematics counts) This fact itself for a thought is sufficient to reason out the purpose of importance given in teaching and learning mathematics in Schools. The usefulness of Mathematics can be perceived in different ways; as arithmetic skills needed to use at Home and Office, as basis for development of Science and Technology and usage of Mathematical techniques as management tool in commerce and industry. Therefore, the Enquiry Committee in their report (The Cockcroft Report) concluded that all the perceptions on usefulness of mathematics arise from the fact that mathematics provides a mean of communication which is powerful, concise and unambiguous. Hence, providing a principal reason for teaching mathematics at all stages in the curriculum. According to American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), mathematics is closely related to Science, Technology and being greatly used in real life. The association has launched a program called Project 2061 where they relate mathematics into Science and Technology. Project 2061 is an ongoing project that was launched in 1985 in America, where its main objective is to help all Americans to literate in Science, Mathematics and Technology. As part of the project, it has been clearly defined that mathematics does play an important role in developing Science and Technology in real life. Besides communication, Mathematics can be used to present information by using charts, graphs and diagrams. As what AAAS has mentioned about the Mathematical representation, manipulation and derivation of information based on a mathematical relationship formed; the enquiry committee as well does mention in its report the usage of figures and symbols in mathematics for manipulation and to deduce further information from the situation the mathematics relate to. They gave 3 scenarios; A car that has travelled for 3 hours at an average speed of 20 miles per hour; we can deduce that it has covered a distance of 60 miles. To find the cost of 20 articles each costing 3p, the area of carpet required to cover a corridor 20 metres long and 3 metres wide In the 3 scenarios, we made use of the fact that: 20 x 3 = 60; hence it provides an illustration of the fact that the same mathematical statement can arise from and represent many different situations. This fact has important consequences. Because the same mathematical statement can relate to more than one situation, results which have been obtained in solving a problem arising from one situation can often be seen to apply to a different situation. Thus this characteristic of Mathematics does show its importance in the study of science and Technology as mentioned by both the Enquiry committee and the programme Project 2061 (AAAS). History of Mathematics By looking at the history of Mathematics; it has been further proven how the development of mathematics had impact on development of Science and Technology. The 17th century saw an unprecedented explosion of mathematical and scientific ideas across Europe. Galileo, an Italian, observed the moons of Jupiter in orbit about that planet, using a telescope based on a toy imported from Holland. Tycho Brahe, a Dane, had gathered an enormous quantity of mathematical data describing the positions of the planets in the sky. His student, Johannes Kepler, a German, began to work with this data. In part because he wanted to help Kepler in his calculations, John Napier, in Scotland, was the first to investigate natural logarithms. Kepler succeeded in formulating mathematical laws of planetary motion. This explains the relationship between mathematics and science or another word, how knowledge of mathematics has been used to develop science over the years. The 19th century saw the beginning of a great deal of abstract algebra. Hermann Grassmann in Germany gave a first version of vector spaces, the British mathematician George Boole devised an algebra that soon evolved into what is now called Boolean algebra, in which the only numbers were 0 and 1 and in which, famously, 1  +  1  =  1. Boolean algebra is the starting point of mathematical logic and has important applications in computer science. Abel and Galoiss investigations into the solutions of various polynomial equations laid the groundwork for further developments of group theory, and the associated fields of abstract algebra. In the 20th century physicists and other scientists have seen group theory as the ideal way to study symmetry. The 20th century saw mathematics become a major profession. Every year, thousands of new Ph.D.s in mathematics was awarded, and jobs are available in both teaching and industry. Therefore, from the 20th Century is where importance has been given to teaching of mathematics. National Curriculum of Mathematics This further explains how the national curriculum for Mathematics has been formed in Britain. Lets look at the various views of Mathematics usage in Industry before the Enquiry Committee was set up; From 1973 to 1976 there were a large volume of complaints which seemed to be coming from employers about lack of mathematical competence on the part of some school leavers; In his speech made at Ruskin College, Oxford in October 1976, Mr James Callaghan, at that time Prime Minister, said: I am concerned on my journeys to find complaints from industry that new recruits from the schools sometimes do not have the basic tools to do the job that is required. There is concern about the standards of numeracy of school leavers. Is there not a case for a professional review of the mathematics needed by industry at different levels? To what extent are these deficiencies the result of insufficient coordination between schools and industry? Indeed how much of the criticism about basic skills and attitudes is due to industrys own shortcomings rather than to the educational system? (The Cockcroft Report (1982) In written evidence to the Parliamentary Expenditure Committee, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) stated: Employers are becoming increasingly concerned that many school leavers, particularly those leaving at the statutory age have not acquired a minimum acceptable standard in the fundamental skills involved in reading, writing, arithmetic and communication. This shows up in the results of nearly every educational enquiry made amongst the CBI membership, and is backed up by continuing evidence from training officers in industry and further education lecturers that young people at 16+ cannot pass simple tests in mathematics and require remedial tuition before training and further education courses can be started. (The Cockcroft Report (1982) In oral evidence to the Expenditure Committee a CBI representative stated: Mathematics, I think or arithmetic, which is really the primary concern rather than mathematics themselves is the one area which is really brought up every time as a problem. It seems that industrys needs are greater in this respect than almost any other. This is the way, certainly, in which shortfall in the education of children makes itself most manifest immediately to an employer. (The Cockcroft Report (1982) Written evidence to the Expenditure Committee from the Engineering Industry Training Board (EITB) stated: The Engineering Industry Training Board, over the last two years, received from its industry increasing criticism, with supporting evidence, of the level of attainment, particularly in arithmetical skills, of school leavers offering themselves for craft and technician training In the view of the Engineering Industry Training Board the industry needs a higher level of attainment in basic mathematics among recruits than it is now getting and believes that, with closer cooperation between school and industry, children can while still at school be motivated to achieve this Mathematics is, however, not simply a question of basic manipulative skills. An understanding of the concepts is also needed and these are better taught by innovative methods, which also appear to enhance the ability to acquire planning and diagnostic skills, of great importance to craft and technician employees. The Cockcroft Report (1982) These are the examples of complaints received and the main reason for the enquiry committee to set up in 1978 to investigate complaints about low levels of numeracy among young entrants to employment and the need for improved liaison between schools and industry. Hence we could deduce that due the mathematical knowledge demand in the work force has brought mathematics an important place in the national curriculum to promote numeracy skills among the young people. Programme of Study (POS) The national curriculum through the Mathematics Programme of Study (POS) aims to develop; Successful learners where pupils should be numerate, creative and able to tackle problems with more than one approach and to solve open-ended problems. Confident Individuals Pupils are given the opportunity to express their ideas using strategies that they are familiar and secure with. Responsible citizens the emphasis on analyzing and justifying conclusions in mathematical situations helps prepare pupils for taking critical and analytical approaches to real-life situations. The framework has set out a number of key concepts that pupils need to know in order to deepen and broaden their knowledge, skills and understanding of Mathematics; Competence should be able to apply a range of mathematical techniques to assess risk, problem solving and decision making Creativity Able to combine understanding, experiences, imagination and reasoning to construct new knowledge and usage of existing mathematical knowledge to create solutions Application and Implication of Mathematics Able to understand that mathematics is used as a tool in a wide range of contexts, such as for Financial issues, Engineering, computer security and so on Critical Understanding Recognizing the limitations and scope of a model or representation. For example, mathematical skills are required to compare different methods of borrowing and paying back of money but the final decision may rely on other factors like comparing the merits of using a credit card that might offer the lowest overall costs. The framework has a set of key processes for both Key Stage 3 and 4 that are essential skills that pupils need to learn to make progress within the Subject. Representing Identify the mathematical aspects of a situation or problem, able to choose between representations to simplify a situation or problem in order to represent it mathematically, using appropriate variables, symbols, diagrams and models to select mathematical information, methods and tools to use. Analysing Use mathematical reasoning, pupils should be able to: make connections within mathematics use knowledge of related problems visualise and work with dynamic images identify and classify patterns; make and begin to justify conjectures and generalisations, considering special cases and counter-examples; explore the effects of varying values and look for invariance and covariance; take account of feedback and learn from mistakes; work logically towards results and solutions, recognising the impact of constraints and assumptions; appreciate that there are a number of different techniques that can be used to analyse a situation; reason inductively and deduce. Use appropriate mathematical procedures Pupils should be able to: make accurate mathematical diagrams, graphs and constructions on paper and on screen; calculate accurately, selecting mental methods or calculating devices  as appropriate ; manipulate numbers, algebraic expressions and equations and apply routine algorithms; use accurate notation, including correct syntax when using ICT; record methods, solutions and conclusions; estimate, approximate and check working. Interpreting and evaluating Pupils should be able to: form convincing arguments based on findings and make general statements; consider the assumptions made and the appropriateness and accuracy of results and conclusions; be aware of the strength of empirical evidence and appreciate the difference between evidence and proof ; look at data to find patterns and exceptions; relate findings to the original context, identifying whether they support or refute conjectures; engage with someone elses mathematical reasoning in the context of a problem or particular situation; consider the effectiveness of alternative strategies. Communicating and reflecting Pupils should be able to: communicate findings effectively; engage in mathematical discussion of results; consider the elegance and efficiency of alternative solutions; look for equivalence in relation to both the different approaches to the problem and different problems with similar structures; make connections between the current situation and outcomes, and situations and outcomes they have already encountered. The framework sets out an outline for teachers to follow in teaching the key concepts and key processes. The range and content for both Key stages are as follow: Key Stage 3: Number and algebra rational numbers, their properties and their different representations rules of arithmetic applied to calculations and manipulations with rational numbers applications of ratio and proportion accuracy and rounding algebra as generalised arithmetic linear equations, formulae, expressions and identities analytical, graphical and numerical methods for solving equations polynomial graphs, sequences and functions Geometry and measures properties of 2D and 3D shapes constructions, loci and bearings Pythagoras theorem transformations similarity, including the use of scale points, lines and shapes in 2D coordinate systems units, compound measures and conversions perimeters, areas, surface areas and volumes Statistics the handling data cycle presentation and analysis of grouped and ungrouped data, including time series and lines of best fit measures of central tendency and spread experimental and theoretical probabilities, including those based on equally likely outcomes.Rules of arithmetic: This includes knowledge of operations and inverse operations and how calculators use precedence. Pupils should understand that not all calculators use algebraic logic and may give different answers for calculations such as 1 + 2 X 3. Calculations and manipulations with rational numbers: This includes using mental and written methods to make sense of everyday situations such as temperature, altitude, financial statements and transactions. Ratio and proportion: This includes percentages and applying concepts of ratio and proportion to contexts such as value for money, scales, plans and maps, cooking and statistical information (eg 9 out of 10 people prefer). Accuracy and rounding: This is particularly important when using calculators and computers. Linear equations: This includes setting up equations, including inequalities and simultaneous equations. Pupils should be able to recognise equations with no solutions or an infinite number of solutions. Polynomial graphs: This includes gradient properties of parallel and perpendicular lines. Sequences and functions: This includes a range of sequences and functions based on simple rules and relationships. 2D and 3D shapes: These include circles and shapes made from cuboids. Constructions, loci and bearings: This includes constructing mathematical figures using both straight edge and compasses, and ICT. Scale: This includes making sense of plans, diagrams and construction kits. Compound measures: This includes making sense of information involving compound measures, for example fuel consumption, speed and acceleration. Surface areas and volumes: This includes 3D shapes based on prisms. The handling data cycle: This is closely linked to the mathematical key processes and consists of: specifying the problem and planning (representing) collecting data (representing and analysing) processing and presenting the data (analysing) interpreting and discussing the results (interpreting and evaluating). Presentation and analysis: This includes the use of ICT. Spread: For example, the range and inter-quartile range. Probabilities: This includes applying ideas of probability and risk to gambling, safety issues, and simulations using ICT to represent a probability experiment, such as rolling two dice and adding the scores. Key Stage 4 Number and algebra real numbers, their properties and their different representations rules of arithmetic applied to calculations and manipulations with real numbers, including standard index form and surds proportional reasoning, direct and inverse proportion, proportional change and exponential growth upper and lower bounds linear, quadratic and other expressions and equations graphs of exponential and trigonometric functions transformation of functions graphs of simple loci Geometry and measures properties and mensuration of 2D and 3D shapes circle theorems trigonometrical relationships properties and combinations of transformations 3D coordinate systems vectors in two dimensions conversions between measures and compound measures Statistics the handling data cycle presentation and analysis of large sets of grouped and ungrouped data, including box plots and histograms, lines of best fit and their interpretation measures of central tendency and spread Experimental and theoretical probabilities of single and combined events. Functional Skills in Mathematics The revised mathematics programme of study has given importance in embedding Functional Maths into teaching. Functional Mathematics requires learners to be able to use mathematics in ways where it make them effective and involve as citizens, able to operate confidently in life and to work in a wider range of contexts. The framework has divided the functional skill into two levels, where level 1 is linked to key stage 3 and level 2 to key stage 4. (Please refer to Appendix 1) The key concept of competence emphasises the need for students to be able to adapt and apply their understanding in a widening range of contexts within the classroom and beyond. This is also at the heart of functional skills. In this way functional skills are much more than a set of technical competencies in mathematics; students have to use mathematics to tackle tasks and problems. All teaching needs to be designed in a way that contributes to the development of functional skills. When planning opportunities for students to develop and understand functional skills you should consider whether you have: provided opportunities for different skills you are focusing on in representing, analysing and interpreting to be developed in combination ensured that students understand that they are learning skills that they will use and apply in a variety of contexts given students the chance to select the skills and tools (including ICT) they need for a particular task provided opportunities for students to apply these skills for real purposes and contexts beyond the classroom. For example, a year 10 project asked students to recommend to school managers a method for electing representatives for the school council. Students explored methods used in politics, including first past the post and different methods of proportional representation. They collected data about different voting methods and carried out simulations, which enabled them to produce a clear recommendation with justification. This project has the potential to be developed in conjunction with ICT, English and citizenship colleagues as it addresses wider curricular issues and also offers opportunities to develop functional skills in ICT and English as well as mathematics. The following are case studies on Functional skills taken from the National Curriculum website (http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk); Wellacre Technology and Vocational College Objective: To help learners understand the relevance of mathematics in real life Year 9 science project and a Year 7 design and technology project. Both required pupils to solve real-world product design problems; In the year 9 science project, skiing was used as a context for developing learners understanding of pressure, mass, surface area and speed. Pupils had to work out how wide skis would need to be for individual pupils to ensure that their skis did not sink into the snow. This required pupils to rearrange formulae and calculate the surface area of their feet and pressure. For the year 7 design and technology project, pupils were given a budget and challenged to raise as much money as they could for  their partner school in Newcastle, South Africa. Pupils considered a range of products before settling on key fobs. Maximising the amount of profit was the main design criterion and pupils were encouraged to use tessellation to ensure their designs minimised waste. As part of the project they also use formulae to calculate break-even points, profit and loss. In both projects, working with real figures proved both an incentive and a challenge pupils were not able to fall back on a set of answers in a textbook. This generated discussion as pupils collaborated to check their calculations. The nature of the tasks also encouraged learners to think independently and creatively to solve problems. Opened ended mathematical Enquiries- Lancaster Girls Grammar School Objective: to develop pupils functional mathematics and problem-solving skills Introducing open-ended projects that required pupils to use mathematics to solve real-life problems Mobiles and Mathematics in year 8 and Music and Mathematics in year 10. Both projects were based around open-ended problems without a right answer. Pupils were given the broad topic areas and told to devise their own projects. Pupils were given two months to prepare, which encouraged them to make their own choices about how they would work and what they would explore. The range of investigations devised by pupils was broad. Year 8 pupils explored different tariffs, compared costs between pay as you go contracts and investigated different usage patterns of people over and under 30. In year 10 pupils were encouraged to make links between mathematics and music. Some considered what kinds of functions might be used to model sound waves. Others explored the connections between the Fibonacci sequence and the layout of a keyboard. In both projects, pupils defined their own problem, decided on the data to collect and how to collect it, gathered information from a number of sources, including their parents or other pupils, considered how to analyse their data, used and applied mathematics skills and drew conclusions. At the end of the projects, they presented their findings and evaluated how successful they had been. Staff and pupils embraced the new way of working. The head of department acknowledged that it was a considerable risk to introduce this way of teaching but it paid off. Initially, staffs were concerned about setting problems when they didnt know the answers but once the work was underway they enjoyed a different way of teaching. The projects offered opportunities to stretch pupils and encourage them to make connections between different parts of their learning. Many of the pupils were nervous about working on a project when they didnt have an indication of what type of project to make. However they soon began to enjoy the freedom of the approach. At the end of the project, a year 8 pupil reflected: This was a break from everyday work and we can use our imagination as we arent being spoon fed the information. We could decide what we wanted to do I have learnt to make decisions. There were different ways to present information on this project and this made it even more exciting. I could be creative with my choices as I didnt have to do exactly what the teacher said. ASSESSING PUPILS PROGRESS IN MATHEMATICS (APP) Finally, in my literature review, I am going to look into embedding APP guidance into teaching and learning of mathematics. Assessing Pupils Progress (APP) is a structured approach to periodic assessment, enabling teachers to: track pupils progress over a key stage or longer; use diagnostic information about pupils strengths and weaknesses to improve teaching and learning Using APP materials, teachers can make more consistent level-related judgements in National Curriculum The APP focuses on how as mathematics teacher can use AFL (Assessment for learning) strategy in lessons in order to generate evidence pupils learning. The diagram shown below tells how the APP cycle works. Review a range of evidence for periodic assessment (APP) Collect and feedback to pupils evidence of their progress during day to day teaching and learning Plan for progression from learning objectives (Secondary Framework and Planning toolkit) Make level related assessment using APP Criteria Adjust Planning, Teaching and learning by referring to Secondary Framework The focused assessment materials are on the APP assessment criteria and organised in National Curriculum levels. There is a set for each level from 4 to 8. The materials include examples of what pupils should know and able to do and some probing questions for teachers to initiate dialogue as to assist in their assessment judgement. The following is an example from the level 6 focused assessment materials. Add and subtract fractions by writing them with a common denominator, calculate fractions of quantities (fraction answers); multiply and divide an integer by a fraction Examples of what pupils should know and be able to do Probing questions Add and subtract more complex fractions such as 11 Ã¢â‚¬Å¾18 + 7 Ã¢â‚¬Å¾24, including mixed fractions. Solve problems involving fractions, e.g.: In a survey of 24 pupils, 1 Ã¢â‚¬Å¾3 liked football best, 1 Ã¢â‚¬Å¾4 liked basketball, 3 Ã¢â‚¬Å¾8 liked athletics and the rest liked swimming. How many liked swimming? Why are equivalent fractions important when adding or subtracting fractions? What strategies do you use to find a common denominator when adding or subtracting fractions? Is there only one possible common denominator? What happens if you use a different common denominator? Give pupils some examples of adding and subtracting of fractions with common mistakes in them. Ask them to talk you through the mistakes and how they would correct them. How would you justify that 4 à · 1 Ã¢â‚¬Å¾5 = 20? How would you use this to work out 4 à · 2 Ã¢â‚¬Å¾5? Do you expect the answer to be greater or less than 20? Why? Probing questions are an important tool in a lesson as it could be used to confirm pupils understanding in a particular topic or their misconceptions. Before we talked about it I always thought if the shape had three numbers you just times them. But now I know that you split the shape into rectangles and I can find the area of a rectangle. Its so easy. I understand it fully now. (Source: APP: Secondary Mathematics Guidance) That was a comment from a pupil after dialogue about understanding and using the formula for the area of a rectangle using the probing questions. KANGAROO MATHS http://www.kangaroomaths.com/index.html Kangaroo Maths is the home page of Bring on the Maths where interactive activities for teachers can be purchased from Key stage 2 to A level. It has an APP page that provides supporting materials for teachers from Key stage 1 to Key stage 3. The assessment policy from the website (Appendix 5) has been rewritten to reflect the APP and to help with the on going development of APP, it has an evaluation tool (Appendix 6) where it allows teachers to self evaluate themselves in focusing, developing and establishing APP criteria with regards to pupils engagement, lesson planning and evidence gathering. Further more, to understand the assessment criteria on the A3 grid, Kangaroo maths has developed the levelopaedias that provide exemplifications and probing questions for each of the assessment criteria. DISCUSSION/FINDINGS: To add on to my findings, I am going to look into the topic Algebra and analyse how it has developed across the levels using the APP criteria (Appendix 7a) and Kangaroo maths Level Ladders( Appendix 7b). Then, based on level 5 work on Algebra, I am going to design 3 series of lesson plans with the guidance of the level ladders. The word ALGEBRA seems to be a put off to most students when unknown numbers or using formulas to real life context. It is a topic that requires accumulative understanding building on from level 2 onwards as shown below (taken from APP guidelines); Algebra Level 5 Construct, express in symbolic form and use simple formulae involving one or two operations. Level 4 Begin to use simple formulae expressed in words Level 3 Recognise a wider range of sequences Begin to understand

Factors Affecting Organisational Environment

Factors Affecting Organisational Environment One of the factors that affects organization-environment relationships is environmental change and complexity. The environment can be described along two dimensions which are its degree of change and its degree of homogeneity. The degree of change is the extent to which the environment is relatively stable or relatively dynamic. The degree of homogeneity of the environment is relatively simple (with some elements, a small portion) or complex (multi-element, much segmentation). These two aspects interact to determine the uncertainty facing the organization. The least environmental uncertainty is faced by organizations with stable and simple environments. The degree of homogeneity and the degree of change combine to create uncertainty for organizations. For example, a simple and stable environment creates the least uncertainty, and a complex and dynamic environment creates the most uncertainty. The University of Manchester provides exceptional learning environments which are highly int eractive online learning tools with our high quality, face to face teaching to provide all the students with a richer learning experience. The University of Manchester committed to creating contemporary, technology-rich and learning specs that bring students into the heart of a required learning experience through their investment in their campus and facilities. And they have the largest collection of books electronic resources of any UK university, and extensive coverage of Wi-Fi on campus. The university library is one of the largest and best-resourced in the UK. With more than four millions books, it also provides a collection of electronic resources unrivalled by any other British university. Professional library stuff provides every student with a full introduction to services, resources and how to make the most of them, and are also on hand throughout your time at the university to provide advice, training and help whenever you need it. And of course, if you have any special needs, facilities and help are provided here too. Manchesters IT provision is constantly growing and being updated to satisfy the rigorous de mands of the most computer-literate of students. But even if youve never graduated beyond a games console, theres no cause for concern.    The University provides guidance, training and support to help you keep abreast of the latest computer programmes and electronic information resources. When you become a student at Manchester, you will be registered for email, file storage and internet access. Computer clusters pepper the campus, many within individual Schools and halls of residence. The biggest computer clusters are located in the main Library and George Kenyon Building. Several of these clusters are open 24 hours a day. More powerful workstations are available to support specialist research applications. Organizations with dynamic but simple environment generally face a moderate degree of uncertainty. Examples of organizations functioning in such environments include music producers (catering faces relatively few competitors (diesel, Lee, and Wrangler), has few suppliers and few regulators and uses limited distribution channels. This relatively simple task environment, but also changes very rapidly as competitors a djust prices and styles, changing consumer tastes and new fabrics become available. Another combination of factors is one of stability and complexity. Toyota, Honda and Nissan face these basic conditions. After all, they must interact with consumer groups, regulators, suppliers and competitors. However, occurs quite slowly in the automobile industry. It is just like how the University of Manchester used the same concept of the environmental change and complexity. The second point of how environments affect organizations is competitive forces. Competitive forces is forces in the marketing environment or educational environment that are based on competition among customers and compete with other firms. As the organization looks out at its business environment, competition is a critical factor. Who is buying goods and services and who is providing them to those customers? Are there many competitors or are there just a few? Maybe none. Knowing what competitive forces exist helps an orga nization develop strategic planning to attract customers. As for the university, the university has a very high-quality research profile. In the first national assessment of higher education research since the universitys founding, the 2008  Research Assessment Exercise, the University of Manchester came 3rd in terms of research power after Cambridge and Oxford and 6th for grade point average quality (8th when including specialist institutions).    Accordingly, Manchester enjoys the largest amount of research funding behind Oxbridge, UCL and Imperial  (these five universities being informally referred to as the golden diamond of research-intensive UK institutions). Manchester also has a particularly strong presence in terms of funding from the three main UK research councils,   EPSRC, MRC  and  BBSRC, being ranked 3rd, 7th  and 1st  respectively. In addition, the university is also one of the richest in the UK in terms of income and interest from endowments: at a recent rank, it was placed at 3rd place behind Oxbridge. Historically, Manchester has been linked with high scientific achievement: the university and its constituent former institutions combined had  25 Nobel Laureates  among their students and staff, the third largest number of any single university in the United Kingdom behind  Oxford  and  Cambridge; in fact, excluding Oxbridge, Manchester has graduated more  Nobel laureates  than any othe r university in the UK. Furthermore, according to an academic poll two of the top ten discoveries by university academics and researchers were made at the University (namely the first working computer and the contraceptive pill). The university currently employs 4 Nobel Prize winners amongst its staff, more than any other in the UK. The 2009  THE-QS World University Rankings  found Manchester overall 26th in the world and 5th by employer reviews by receiving a maximum 100% rating which the university has retained since 2008. The separate 2010  QS World University Rankings  (in 2010  Times Higher Education World University Rankings  and  QS World University Rankings  parted ways to produce separate rankings) found that Manchester had slipped to 30th in the world. The  Academic Ranking of World Universities  2008 published by the Institute of Higher Education of  Shanghai Jiao Tong University  ranked Manchester 5th in the UK, 6th in Europe and 40th in the world . After several years of steady progress, Manchester fell back in 2009 to 41st in the world and 7th in Europe, falling back further to 44th in the world and 9th in Europe in 2010. Excluding US universities, Manchester is ranked 13th and 11th in the world for 2009 by THES and ARWU respectively. According to the ARWU rankings, the university is ranked 9th in Europe for natural sciences and 4th in engineering. Similarly the  HEEACT  2009 rankings for scientific performance place Manchester 5th in Europe for engineering, 8th for natural sciences  and 3rd for social sciences. And finally THES ranks Manchester 6th in Europe for technology, 10th for life sciences  and 7th for social sciences. More recently a survey by the Times Higher Education Supplement has shown that Manchester is placed 6th in Europe in the area of Psychology Psychiatry. According to a further ranking by SCImago Research Group Manchester is ranked 8th in Europe amongst higher education institutions in terms of sheer research output. In terms of research impact, a further ranking places Manchester 6th in Europe. According to the High Fliers Research Limiteds survey, University of Manchester students are being targeted by more top recruiters for graduate vacancies than any other UK university students for three consecutive years (2007-2009). Furthermore, the university has been ranked joint 20th in the world for 2009 according to the Professional Ranking of World Universities. Its main compilation criterion is the number of Chief Executive Officers (or number 1 executive equivalent) which are among the 500 leading worldwide companies as measured by revenue who studied in each university. The ranking places the University only behind Oxford nationally. Manchester is ranked 5th among British universities according to a popularity ranking which is based on the degree of traffic that a universitys website attracts. Also, a further report places Manchester among the top 20 universities outside the US. At a recent ranking undertaken by the Guardian, Manchester is placed 5th in the UK in internation al reputation behind the usual four: Oxbridge, UCL and Imperial. However, while as a rule world rankings (such as the ARWU, THES and HEEACT) typically place the university within the top 10 in Europe, national studies are less complimentary; The Times Good University Guide 2011 ranked Manchester 30th out of 113 Universities in the UK, The Complete University Guide2011 in association with The Independent placed it at 31st out of 115 universities whilst The Guardian University Guide 2011 ranked Manchester at 51st out of 118 universities in the UK. This apparent paradox is mainly a reflection of the different ranking methodologies employed by each listing: global rankings focus on research and international prestige, whereas national rankings are largely based on teaching and the student experience. The last point on how environments affect organizations is environmental turbulence. Environmental turbulence refers to the amount of change and complexity in the environment of a company. The greater the amount of change in environmental factors, such as technology and governmental regulations, and the greater the number of environmental factors that must be considered, the higher the level of environmental turbulence. For many reasons, environmental volatility and instability have been increasing for the past 100 years. Although often experience unexpected changes and upheavals, the five could still compete for the review and evaluation system, and development plans to address these issues.   At the same time, despite the changes in the environment or the occasional long-wave instability is not the most common form of the organization warned, there may be some form of crisis. One of the crisis is to get the attention of managers in recent years is workplace violence-situations in which disgruntled workers or former workers assault other employees, resulting often in injury and sometimes in death. The recession began in 2009 and concerns about the H1N1 (swine) flu virus in 2009 are other recent examples. The impact of crisis affects the organizations in different ways, and some organizations have developed crisis plans and teams. For example, during the H1N1 virus scare in 2009, one investigation reported that only 27 per cent of all United States employers had their plans for dealing with such a potential health crisis. In view of numerous problems, difficulties, and the environment in an organization, how should the organization adapt? Clearly, each organization must assess its own unique situation and adapt according to the wisdom of its senior management. Organizations attempt to their environments. The most common methods are information management; strategic response; mergers, acquisitions, and alliances; organization design and flexibility; direct influence; and social responsibility. One way in which organizations adapt to their environments is through information management. Information management  (IM) is the collection and management of  information  from one or more sources and the distribution of that information to one or more audiences. This sometimes involves those who have a stake in or a right to that information.   Management  means the organization of and control over the structure, processing and delivery of information. Throughout the 1970s this was largely limited to files, file maintenance, and the  life cycle management  of paper-based files, other media and records. With the proliferation of information technology starting in the 1970s, the job of information management took on a new light, and also began to include the field of  Data mainte nance. No longer was information management a simple job that could be performed by almost anyone. An understanding of the technology involved and the theory behind it became necessary. As information storage shifted to electronic means, this became more and more difficult. By the late 1990s when information was regularly disseminated across computer networks and by other electronic means, network managers, in a sense, became information managers. Those individuals found themselves tasked with increasingly complex tasks, hardware and software. With the latest tools available, information management has become a powerful resource and a large expense for many organizations. In short, information management entails organizing, retrieving, acquiring and maintaining information. It is closely related to and overlapping with the practice of Data Management. Other than information management, there is another way that an organization adapts to its environments is through a strategic respon se. If the market is growing rapidly as a company, the firm may decide to invest even more heavily in products and services for that market. Similarly, if the market is shrinking or without the possibility of reasonable growth, the company may decide to cut back. A related strategic approach that some organizations use to adapt to their environments involves mergers, acquisitions, and alliances. A merger is the combining of two or more companies, generally by offering the stockholders of one company securities in the acquiring company in exchange for the surrender of their stock. An  acquisition, also known as a  takeover  or a  buyout, is the buying of one company (the target) by another. Consolidation is when two companies combine together to form a new company altogether. An acquisition may be private or public, depending on whether the acquiree or merging company is or isnt listed in public markets. An acquisition may be  friendly  or hostile. Whether a purchase is p erceived as a friendly or hostile depends on how it is communicated to and received by the target companys board of directors, employees and shareholders. It is quite normal though for MA deal communications to take place in a so-called confidentiality bubble whereby information flows are restricted due to confidentiality agreements (Harwood, 2005). In the case of a friendly transaction, the companies cooperate in negotiations; in the case of a hostile deal, the takeover target is unwilling to be bought or the targets  board  has no prior knowledge of the offer. Hostile acquisitions can, and often do, turn friendly at the end, as the acquirer secures the endorsement of the transaction from the board of the acquired company. This usually requires an improvement in the terms of the offer. Acquisition usually refers to a purchase of a smaller firm by a larger one. Sometimes, however, a smaller firm will acquire management control of a larger or longer established company and keep i ts name for the combined entity. This is known as a  reverse takeover. Another type of acquisition is a reverse merger, a deal that enables a private company to get publicly listed in a short time period. A  reverse merger  occurs when a private company that has strong prospects and is eager to raise financing buys a publicly listed shell company, usually one with no business and limited assets.    Achieving acquisition success has proven to be very difficult, while various studies have shown that 50% of acquisitions were unsuccessful. The acquisition process is very complex, with many dimensions influencing its outcome. A  business alliance  is an agreement between businesses, usually motivated by cost reduction and improved service for the customer. Alliances are often bounded by a single agreement with equitable risk and opportunity share for all parties involved and are typically managed by an integrated project team. An example of this is  code sharing  in airline alliances. An organization may also adapt to environmental conditions by incorporating flexibility in its structural design. For example, a company in an uncertain business environment, relatively low levels may choose to use many of the basic rules, regulations and standard operating procedures of the design. The latter sometimes referred to as an organic design, is considerably more flexible and allow t he organization to respond quickly to environmental change. Organizations are not necessarily helpless in the face of their environments. In fact, many organizations are able to directly influence their environments in many different types of ways. The organization also influences their customers by creating new users for a product, stealing customers away from competitors, and also convincing customers that they need something more new and updated. Another way that an organization adapts to its environments is through social responsibility. Social responsibility  is the principle that companies should contribute to the welfare of society and not be solely devoted to maximizing profits. This responsibility can be negative, meaning there is an exemption from blame or liability, or it can be positive, meaning there is a responsibility to act beneficently (proactive stance). Specifically, social responsibility is the set of obligations an organization has to protect and enhance the societal context in which it functions. A number of organizations recognize that in all three areas of responsibility, every effort to meet each of them, while others emphasize only one or two areas of social responsibility. And a few acknowledge no social responsibility at all. In addition, the views of social responsibility vary in different countries.

The Role of Reflexivity in Ethnography Essay -- Anthropology Science E

The Role of Reflexivity in Ethnography Reflexivity, as I understand it, is very well named.It is the practice of reflecting upon oneself and one’s work, of being self-aware and self-critical. In anthropology, it is well exemplified by the work of Renato Rosaldo, Ruth Behar, and Dorinne Kondo, among others. In its most obvious form (or at least the form most obvious to me), reflexivity is manifest in the practice of an ethnographer including herself in her own ethnographic research---seeing herself not as an â€Å"unbiased, impartial† (Malinowski 18) observer, but as an essential and un-removable part of her study. The effect of reflexivity on ethnographic writing has been, however, much broader than just that. It signals â€Å"a departure from the ideology of objectivity [and] distance† which for so long pervaded ethnography (Marcus 189). For those who choose to employ it, reflexivity offers the (often daunting) liberty of not presuming to have all the answers. While this obviously presents logistical problems for anthropology (such as: If we can’t ever come to an answer, then what’s the point?), reflexivity has had a hand in producing some of the most compelling, unassuming texts that I’ve read. Anthropology is, in my opinion, not a science.It’s simply not that static. Culture is not something that can be understood the way one can understand gravity or electricity.It is open for interpretation, open for many different interpretations, and I like it that way. I’m immediately turned off by an ethnographer who claims to know the truth about his subject: frankly, I don’t believe it. And even if something is â€Å"true† for a given culture at a given time, who’s to say it won’t have completely changed in five years? I think that formulating a... ...e only one, and that no one ethnographer can prove that they’ve â€Å"gotten† a culture any more than any one else (197). Again, this brings me back to the â€Å"then what’s the point?† problem. In my opinion, what we need are more interpretations of cultures. In that case, there is even more of a need for the work that we do as ethnographers. The â€Å"point† is actually larger now than it was before. How much would critical thinking be facilitated if we had something compare with and be critical about? Any interpretation of culture is worth looking at because, since a human thought it up, it’s within our realm of study. As Rosaldo writes, â€Å"the truth of objectivism---absolute, universal, and timeless--- has lost its monopoly status† (21). The goal now is to find a reflexive, self-critical medium between objectivism and self-indulgence. I feel like we might actually get there.

Should I Use an e-Business Broker When I Buy a Website? :: Sell Websites Buy Web Sites

Should I Use an e-Business Broker When I Buy a Website? Reprinted with permission of VotanWeb.com A website broker is similar to a real estate broker to the extent that they try to put buyers and sellers together. Instead of real estate being sold, they focus on websites. The criteria to become a website broker vary from state to state and their individual training, history, specialty and area of expertise are things that you must investigate. Some website brokers work independently while others work for a website brokerage company. Website Brokers work on commission and if you do not ultimately buy a business then any work that they have done for you is not compensated. If you hire a website broker, it is critical that you hire the right one. A website Broker may be able to provide you with access to websites that are available for sale that you would never be able to find on your own. They can narrow the search for you to websites that fit your criteria and they can help you avoid a lot of wasted time. The one thing that brokers cannot do is to find a website that is right for you. This is something that only you can do. Brokers clearly prefer to work with knowledgeable buyers and if they have to spend their time educating you then they cannot make money. They can be an effective tool for you to use if you can provide them with a clear mandate of what it is that you are looking to buy. Avoid generalities; explain your strengths, weaknesses and objectives and never mislead them. Ninety percent of the potential buyers that brokers work with never buy a business. While this is part of the risk involved in their chosen profession, this does not give you the right to waste their time. Accordingly, they may be somewhat hesitant when working with new clients until you demonstrate your sincerity and commitment to buying a website. There is no doubt that if you are a serious and educated buyer then a good broker will go above and beyond the call of duty to service your needs. Be respectful of their time and realize that they have to make a living. If at any time you decide to drop out of the hunt to buy a website then let them know immediately. Conversely, if you do not feel that they are extending their best efforts on your behalf then find another one.

Love and Human Person Essay

1. Phenomenology is a way of seeing, of grasping the world from one’s lived experience, and as a method makes much use of epochà © and the phenomenological reductions to describe man’s experiences. 2. Using secondary reflection on my lived experience, I discover the inescapable fact of my existence: I exist as a being-in-the-world-with others, and this is because of the datum called my body. My body encroaches upon both being and having. * 3. As an embodied spirit, I am facticity-transcendence, temporality and historicity. All these are manifested in my being a homo faber. Work is a way for me to express and liberate myself, and to humanize the world. 4. Consciousness is intentional. Human knowing is a dialectical unity of the subject’s openness to reality and the self-givenness of reality in an endless series of profiles against a horizon of other possible objects. 5. At first glance, freedom and responsibility mean the capacity to choose, to act on my own, to be the source of my concrete actions and to be accountable for them. But as I gradually unfold in the world, I become free and â€Å"response-able.† Authentic freedom then develops into a â€Å"self-possession with an objectively directed project of life.† 6. Dialogue is not identical with love but it is required in love. The obstacles to dialogue are seeming, speechifying and imposition. 7. Love is the unconditional giving of oneself to the other as other. Love of the other as other does not run counter to self-love but presupposes it. Love is â€Å"essentially a movement tending to the enhancement of value.† (Scheler) 8. Justice is the minimum demand of love rooted in the inviolability of the human person. 9. The socius exists as a dialectic to the neighbor. The neighbor passes through the socius, expresses itself on the fringes of the socius or rises against the socius. 10. The family is not a problem but a mystery, a value and a presence, the incarnation of the pact between the human persons and life, rooted in creative fidelity and hope. 11. The state exists to provide the external conditions and structure for the human person’s being-with-others. The principles of solidarity and subsidiary are important to counteract the totalitarian tendency of the state and to promote the value of democracy. As a political being, the human person has a double-duty towards the state. 12. Civil society, as distinct from the state, the economy and political parties, offers an alternative framework for sustainable societal development, and resolves the contradictions of elite versus participative democracy, rights-oriented liberalism versus communitarianism, and welfare state versus neoconservative antistatism. 13. In being-towards-death, one’s existence can be either inauthentic or authentic (Heidegger). Death is a test of love and the condition of freedom (Troisfontaines). 14. Human love in itself, which is the crowning point of all of my activities, does not guarantee my total fulfillment as a person but fails short of my search for authenticity. Thus reflecting on my historicity, and facing the inescapable fact of death, I long for the Absolute Thou who is the Horizon and Ground of my earthly existence.

Payroll Accounting Cycle Essay

The Payroll Accounting Cycle or Payroll Cycle is basically a process for recording time and attendance and converting that data into payroll calculations and payroll disbursements (Robertson, 2003). This cycle covers all activities related to payroll from hiring and firing to pay distribution. The payroll cycle has four basic stages; recruitment, which covers the identification of vacant positions, advertising for the vacancies, and selection of a candidate for hire, time and attendance, which is a record of all the work hours of the employees, salary distribution, which involves the depositing of paychecks into the employees account, and unfunded liability, which determines the unfunded annual leave and separation pay (Payroll Cycle, 2005). The most important internal control process in the Payroll Accounting Cycle is the division of duties (Bierstaker, 1997). Under this control process, the main tasks should be handled by different people.  This means that processes such as the hiring and firing of personnel and the management of labor relations, the supervision approval of work time, the preparation and timekeeping of payroll, the payroll check preparation and related payroll reports as well as the payroll distribution and actual custody of checks and its subsequent distribution to employees, should all be handled by five separate auditors to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the Payroll Cycle (Robertson, 2003). Another specific internal control in the Payroll Cycle is by implementing authorization requirements. This basically acts as a checks and balance feature in the Payroll Accounting Cycle (Bierstaker, 1997). In this control process, the pay base data, which is the data on which pay is based including factors such as hours, piece rate volume, and incentives, and personnel hiring and firing decisions, should all be initially approved by a supervisor or an independent department (Robertson, 2003). Providing that all these controls are implemented properly, there should be no relative weaknesses in the Payroll Cycle. There are probabilities however that the internal control systems will fail to detect material misstatements. The methods that can be used to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the Payroll Accounting Cycle of a business involve careful auditing, risk assessment and control risk assessment (Bierstaker, 1997). In conducting control risk assessments it should always be remembered that if the control risk is assessed very low, substantive audit procedures can be limited in cost-saving ways. If it is assessed very high, substantive procedures will need to be designed to lower the risk of failing to detect material misstatement in the account balances (Robertson, 2003). There is no perfect Payroll Accounting Cycle and control measures should always be implemented and audited periodically.

The Bell Jar

Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest The bell jar and one flew over the cuckoo's nest can be linked considerably. Both novels are set in 1950†² America post the ‘cold war' an era where conformity and obedience is a norm and anything that impairs it isn't seen as a benefit to society. Both novels explore themes such as paranoia, suspicion and mental health. The Bell Jar has a significant opening with the first sentence that mentions the execution of the Rosenbergs â€Å"It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted theRosenbergs† The opening immediately foreshadows the expectations that arrive in the novel in addition how society at the time behaved and based assumptions on. The fact that the sentence first opens with the description of electrocution has a major impact as the electrocution is a chilling topic that Esther has to encounter throughout the novel, as the subject of electrocution has been deliberately made important in the first chapter it reflects Es ther's severe perception of the subject its self.Furthermore in chapter 1 It is assumed that paranoia and suspicion also have an mportant role in the chapter â€Å"Goggle-eyed headlines staring up at me on every street corner† the suggestion that society segregated members for having a view point and opinion on controversial topics, and the fact members had to conform if not there will be raised issues and suspicion. In comparison the opening chapter of One flew over the cuckoos nest also starts with paranoia and suspicion â€Å"They are out there† this condemns the audience to question who and what Is out there, a ideology that 1950's America was secluding Individuals on opinions and mental health.Both of the novels are written in first person narratives which directly parks us Into the state of mind of the characters allowing us to ponder and take upon their Imagination to perceive the world as they do such as the striking Imagery we receive. â€Å"l felt as though I were carrying that cadavers head around with me on a string, Ilke some black, noseless balloon stinking of vinegar† this Imagery puts the reader In the position that we start to realise that death Is forever following Esther and It Is a reoccurring threat to her and the Idea of her not conforming.Through her first person narrative we are able to place our self's In her position and see the world from her eyes. In comparison to one flew over the cuckoos nest It Is also written In the first person narrative through the eyes of a mental health patient, similarly to the Bell Jar we are placed Into a mind of a patient that Isn't condemned as ‘sane' so therefore has a significant Impact on the questioning In what Is normal or not.The Bell Jar By rzerroukil self. Furthermore in chapter 1 it is assumed that paranoia and suspicion also have an One flew over the cuckoo's nest also starts with paranoia and suspicion â€Å"They are out there† this condemns the audience to q uestion who and what is out there, a ideology that 1950's America was secluding individuals on opinions and mental health.Both of the novels are written in first person narratives which directly parks us into the state of mind of the characters allowing us to ponder and take upon their imagination to perceive the world as they do such as the striking imagery we receive. â€Å"l felt as though I were carrying that cadavers head around with me on a string, like some lack, noseless balloon stinking of vinegar† this imagery puts the reader in the position that we start to realise that death is forever following Esther and it is a reoccurring threat to her and the idea of her not conforming.Through her first person narrative we are able to place our self's in her position and see the world from her eyes. In comparison to one flew over the cuckoo's nest it is also written in Bell Jar we are placed into a mind of a patient that isn't condemned as ‘sane' so therefore has a sign ificant impact on the questioning in what is normal or not. The Bell Jar Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest The bell jar and one flew over the cuckoo's nest can be linked considerably. Both novels are set in 1950†² America post the ‘cold war' an era where conformity and obedience is a norm and anything that impairs it isn't seen as a benefit to society. Both novels explore themes such as paranoia, suspicion and mental health. The Bell Jar has a significant opening with the first sentence that mentions the execution of the Rosenbergs â€Å"It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted theRosenbergs† The opening immediately foreshadows the expectations that arrive in the novel in addition how society at the time behaved and based assumptions on. The fact that the sentence first opens with the description of electrocution has a major impact as the electrocution is a chilling topic that Esther has to encounter throughout the novel, as the subject of electrocution has been deliberately made important in the first chapter it reflects Es ther's severe perception of the subject its self.Furthermore in chapter 1 It is assumed that paranoia and suspicion also have an mportant role in the chapter â€Å"Goggle-eyed headlines staring up at me on every street corner† the suggestion that society segregated members for having a view point and opinion on controversial topics, and the fact members had to conform if not there will be raised issues and suspicion. In comparison the opening chapter of One flew over the cuckoos nest also starts with paranoia and suspicion â€Å"They are out there† this condemns the audience to question who and what Is out there, a ideology that 1950's America was secluding Individuals on opinions and mental health.Both of the novels are written in first person narratives which directly parks us Into the state of mind of the characters allowing us to ponder and take upon their Imagination to perceive the world as they do such as the striking Imagery we receive. â€Å"l felt as though I were carrying that cadavers head around with me on a string, Ilke some black, noseless balloon stinking of vinegar† this Imagery puts the reader In the position that we start to realise that death Is forever following Esther and It Is a reoccurring threat to her and the Idea of her not conforming.Through her first person narrative we are able to place our self's In her position and see the world from her eyes. In comparison to one flew over the cuckoos nest It Is also written In the first person narrative through the eyes of a mental health patient, similarly to the Bell Jar we are placed Into a mind of a patient that Isn't condemned as ‘sane' so therefore has a significant Impact on the questioning In what Is normal or not.The Bell Jar By rzerroukil self. Furthermore in chapter 1 it is assumed that paranoia and suspicion also have an One flew over the cuckoo's nest also starts with paranoia and suspicion â€Å"They are out there† this condemns the audience to q uestion who and what is out there, a ideology that 1950's America was secluding individuals on opinions and mental health.Both of the novels are written in first person narratives which directly parks us into the state of mind of the characters allowing us to ponder and take upon their imagination to perceive the world as they do such as the striking imagery we receive. â€Å"l felt as though I were carrying that cadavers head around with me on a string, like some lack, noseless balloon stinking of vinegar† this imagery puts the reader in the position that we start to realise that death is forever following Esther and it is a reoccurring threat to her and the idea of her not conforming.Through her first person narrative we are able to place our self's in her position and see the world from her eyes. In comparison to one flew over the cuckoo's nest it is also written in Bell Jar we are placed into a mind of a patient that isn't condemned as ‘sane' so therefore has a sign ificant impact on the questioning in what is normal or not.

Cell Theory and Knowledge and Understanding Essay

Explain how the advance in technology allowed the progressive accumulation of knowledge and understanding of the cell theory The technological advancements, in the scientific field, have opened opportunities for scientists to accumulate knowledge and understanding of the cell theory and have thus provided justification to the living organisms that exist. Notably, prior to the proposal of the cell theory, limited knowledge and understanding of what humans comprised of was evident and thus the theory of spontaneous generation was brought forth. This theory, which has been disproved by Virchow in 1855, suggests that living matter arouses spontaneously from non-living matter. As a consequence of limited technology, many people believed this theory as technological inventions like the light compound microscope, which showed life, were non-existent at the time. Evidently, in 1665, Robert Hooke, an English scientist, invented his own compound microscope and observed the cellular nature of the cork. The topic of cells was brought forth and from this moment, in 1674 Leeuwenhoek viewed microscope ‘ animalcules’ and in 1838, Schleiden and Schwann produced the cell theory, stating that all living things are made of cells and cells are the basic unit of organisms. Moreover, the technological introduction of stains were developed and assisted scientists to efficiently see cells and their internal structures. This staining technique, as a result of technology, created a contrast between the transparent material and its background, presenting a clear image of the cell. Therefore, through the technology advancement in staining techniques, the processes of the cells and nuclear division of the cell were visible. Significantly, towards the end of the 19th century, compound light microscopes had been developed to a point where the resolving power of microscopes was diminishing, with difficulty in separating objects. The next scientific breakthrough was evident as a result of the invention of the electron microscope, in 1933, which had a magnification of up to one million times and can show detailed images of internal structures. Thus, the accumulation of knowledge of the cell theory being radical, present the idea that the advancement of technology has had a tremendous impact on the cell theory.